DOVER-FOXCROFT (AP) – Pearl M. Hamlin, perhaps the oldest resident of a state with one of the oldest populations, died Sunday at a Dover-Foxcroft nursing home, less than a month before she would have turned 109.

Hamlin was born in Willimantic on Feb. 14, 1897, weeks before William McKinley succeeded Grover Cleveland as president.

Aside from a few years spent in Holyoke, Mass., and Bangor, she lived her entire life in Piscataquis County.

Her son, Robert Hamlin, of Milo, said he suspected for some time that his mother was the oldest Mainer but could never find out for sure.

Census data shows that Maine, with a median age of 38.6, has the third-oldest population, behind only West Virginia and Florida.

A graduate of Milo High School, Pearl Hamlin was a part-time school teacher for several years. She was an excellent seamstress and was active in church and clubs.

She lived independently until age 105.

“She was never sick. She had a constitution of iron,” said her grandson, Neil Hamlin, a lawyer. He said his grandmother attributed her longevity to “good genes.”

“Whatever situation she was in, she made the best of it,” her 83-year-old son said. “When my dad died in ’68, she made the best of it. When she moved into senior citizens’ housing or had to give up driving, she didn’t complain.”

“These people who fight things like that, they end up having to do them anyway and all they accomplish is to make life miserable for themselves and make everyone else unhappy.”

Hamlin was in good shape physically and mentally almost until the end. She began to decline around Christmas.

Other survivors include a son, Carl, of Milo, and seven other grandchildren.

A funeral was set for Tuesday at United Baptist Church of Milo.